Apparatus for remote control of outboard motors



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K. M. URQUHART APPARATUS FOR REMOTE CONTROL OF OUTBOARD MOTORS FiledFeb. 16, 1950 Jan. 6, 1953 Patented Jan. 6, 1953 APlARATUS FOR REMOTECONTROL OF OUTBOARD MOTORS Kenneth M. UrquharLNew York, N. Y.Application February 16, 1950, Serial No. 144,441

8 Claims.

This invention relates to control devices and particularly to meanswhereby both the steering and speed of an outboard motor can becontrolled by one hand from any position in the boat to which the motoris attached.

The principal object of the invention is the provision of a device ofthis kind which will eliminate the necessity for the operator to sitdirectly in front of or near the motor. Another object is to provide a.control apparatus which may be easily attached to and detached fromsubstantially any outboard motor and which apparatus does not have to beconnected in any manner to the boat itself. Still another object is theprovision of such an apparatus through the use of which the steering andspeed of the motorcan be controlled continuously without interruptioneven though the motor be jarred or suddenly jolted upwardly by strikinga hidden underwater object such as a rock, submerged log or the like.

At the present time small and medium sized outboard motors are usuallyprovided with a steering arm and a separate speed control lever. Theseelements project butv a short distance from the motor and it is thusnecessary for the operator to sit close to the motor with one hand onthe steering arm and the other hand on the speed control lever,particularly when the boat is moving through a narrow stream or whereconstant care must be taken not to hit rocks, logs, boats and otherobjects. Depending, of course, upon the speed of the boat and the winddirection, it is frequently unavoidable that the operator inhale exhaustfumes from the motor. Again it is impossible for the operator to moveforward or to take any other position in the boat while the motor isoperating.

Larger outboard motors are frequently rigged up with a steering wheel inthe bow of the boat adapted to turn the motor about its swivelconnection by means of cables passing through eyes along the sides ofthe boat. With such motors the speed control is usually effected bymeans of a push-pull flexible rod or wire enclosed in a tube extendingfrom the motor to a point at the bow of the boat near the steeringwheel. With this arrangement control is practicable at one point orlocation only and again both hands are required for smooth operation.

With the present invention an inexpensive, lightweight, easilyattachable means is provided for controlling both small and largeoutboard motors from an unlimited number of positions in the boat. Thepositiaon of the operator can be easily changed while the boat and motorare in movement. The motor and the control apparatus can readily bemoved'from one boat to another and without the necessity of any specialattachments being made to the boat. Since the control device is notattached to the boat itself, the motor can be used on boats ofsubstantially any type. As indicated above, the operator is freed of thenecessity of sitting near the motor and he thus avoids both the noiseand fumes inevitably found at the ordinary operating positions. Againthe operator can sit with the passengers and talk with them whilecontrolling both the speed and direction of travel with one hand. Thedevice is readily adapted to be fitted to practically all models ofoutboard motors and can be readily detached from one and applied toanother.

In accordance with the invention a control device is provided, generallyin the form of a lightweight rod extending loosely from any position inthe boat to the motor and attached at its rear end to the motor by meansof a bracket and a linkage, the arrangement being such that the operatorwith one hand on the control rod can steer the boat by pushing the rodforward or backward while simultaneously controlling the speed byturning the rod slightly in either direction about its longitudinalaxis.

For a better understanding of the invention reference may be had to bethe accompanying drawing, in which Fig. 1 is an elevation of an outboardmotor showing the control device attached thereto;

Fig. 2 .is an enlarged view of the control mounting and linkage, certainof the parts being of a slightly modified form;

Fig. 3 is an isometric view of another form of attaching means;

Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view through the coupling between-thecontrol .rod and steering bracket; and 1 Fig. 5 is an isometric'viewpartly in section through a modified attaching means.

Referringto Fig. 1, an outboard motor lB'of a conventional form is shownas provided with a bracket 12 for attaching the motor to the boat, notshown, the bracket l2 being pivotally or swivelly connected to the motorso that the latter can be turned about its vertical axis in the steeringof the boat. The motor shown is' of a conventional type provided with asteering arm or handlelli pivotally connected as at It to a shortextension lever l8 rigidly attached to the motor. The boat is steered,of course, by push ing the handle [4 to one side or the other in asubstantially horizontal plane. The motor is also provided with acomparatively short speed control lever 28 which usually has aball-shaped outer end 22 for convenience in grasping.

In carrying out the invention in one form, a bracket 24, shown moreclearly in Fig. 2, has one end 26 bent at a right angle and providedwith a hole through which the pivot bolt 16 can be inserted andtightened so that the bracket will be rigidly and laterally connected tothe extension I 8. The outer end of the bracket 24 is provided with ahole 28 formed, as shown more clearly in Fig. 4, to provide a knife edge30 midway between the top and bottom surface of the bracket arm. Thepurpose of this knife edge will be defined hereafter.

In the form shown in Fig. 1, an elongated control rod 32 is illustrated,this rod being formed of any lightweight rigid material such as wood,aluminum or the like. The outer end of the control rod 32 is providedwith a handle 34 clamped to the rod at right angles thereto. The rearend of the control rod 32 is preferably of a smaller diameter asindicated at 3B and a clamping member 3 3 is adapted to encircle and tobe attached rigidly to the rod portion 33 as by tightening a bolt 4e.Between the member 38 and the larger diameter portion of the rod 32 isan eye element 42 in which the hole 44 is slightly larger than the rodportion 35. Attached to and depending from the eye element '42 is a 'pin5.5, this element being of slightly smaller diameter than theknife-edged portion 30 of the bracket L24. As shown in Fig. 1 theclamping element 38 is attached to the rod portion 36 at such a pointthat the eye element 42 will be held loosely against longitudinalmovement on the control rod while the control rod will be able to turneasily within the hole 44. If desired a ring 47 may be attached to therod portion 36 by a suitable set screw so as to limit the longitudinalmovement of the rod portion '36 within the eye 42, as shown in Fig. 2.The eye element 42 and its pin 46 are assembled on the outer end of thebracket 24 as shown more clearly in Fig. 4 and a cotter pin 48 may beplaced through a suitable hole in the ring 46 below the bracket arm. Itwill be seen that with the device as described thus far an operatorgrasping the handle 34 or the rod 32 at any position between the ends ofthe rod and moving the rod longitudinally will turn the motor l aboutits vertical axis and will thus steer the boat. Due to the pivotalconnection shown in Fig. 4 the rod 32 can be moved about its pivot sothat the operator can grasp it from a position at either side of theboat.

Extending upwardly and preferably threaded'to the upper end of theclamping element'38 is a link rod 50, the upper end of which is attachedto a connecting link 52 as by means of a ball and socket connection 54.The other end of the connecting link 52 .is provided with an adjustablesocket 56 adapted to be loosely clamped :around the ball 22 on the outerend of the speed control lever 20, as by means of the bolts 53. With thearrangement'thus described, the operator in addition to steering theboat by moving the control rod 32 longitudinally can, by turning thesame rod about its longitudinal axis, cause the link rod 50, theconnecting link 52 and the speed control lever 20 to turn in ahorizontal plane thus controlling the speed of the motor I a.

In operation, in the event that the, underwater portion of the motorshould strike a rock, a submerged log or the like and. be suddenlytilted upwardly about the swivel bracket 12, the bracket arm 24 will notbind upon and cause breakage of the control arm 32, due to thecomparatively loose connection between the knife edge 30 and the pin 43.The same sudden tilting of the motor will not cause breakage or strainin the connecting links 5! and 52 due to the provision of the ball andsocket connection 2256.

It is to be understood that the illustration of the connections betweenthe control rod 32 and the motor it are by way of example only, and thatany other suitable connecting means can be used in place, for instance,of the bolt connection I6 and the ball and socket connection 56. Forexample, in case the motor is not provided with a vertically tiltablesteering handle [4 but rather with a unitary handle rigidly projectingfrom the motor housing, the bracket 24 can be attached to such asteering handle as by means of the clamping ring 68 shown in Fig. 3adapted to encircle the steering handle and be clamped thereto as bytightening the wing 'bolt 62. Likewise, if the motor speed'control lever20 is not provided with the ball end 22, the outer end of the levercould be drilled and a pin and hole connection made-between the leverand the connecting link 52 as is shown in Fig. i.

It is contemplated that instead of the unitary control rod 32 atelescoping rod can be used as is shown more clearly in Fig. 2. Thus therear portion of the rod could be :in the form of a hollow square link ofaluminum 32a having a reduced solid round portion fitaatits rear end. Anextension member 3212 of wood or metal and which can be either solid orhollow is shown as having sliding engagement with the interior of thehollow section 32a and adapted to be rigidly attached thereto at anyposition as by tightening the wing bolt 64. As is the case with the rodshown in Fig. 1, the outer end of the extension 32?) preferably hasattached thereto a suitable handle 34a.

Some of the larger outboard motors, instead of being provided withseparate steering and speed control levers, are provided with a singlelcversuch as is shown at 36 in Fig. 5. These levers usually havea'handle portion 68 and an adjustable or rotatable ball end T0, themember 19 being attached to a flexible wire H passing through the handle68 and hollow arm 66 to the motor where it is attached in various waysto the speed controlling mechanism of the motor. If it is desired to usemy control mechanism with a motor having the single control lever justdescribed, a hollow tubular member 12 may be clamped around the handle63 as by tightening the wing bolt 14. The outer end of the tubularmember 12 is provided with an enlargement Hi, the inner surface of whichis formed so as to provide a ball and socket connection with a ball 78on the rear end of a control rod 80. With this arrangement the operatorcan grasp the control :rod M and due to the ball and socket connection161-8 can move the control rod longitudinally, thus turning the lever'66 about its axis so as, in turn, to 'turn the motor H3 about itsvertical axis to steer the boat.

The ball end "ill which as has been described above is adapted tocontrol the speed of the motor as by turning it about the longitudinalaxis of the lever E6 is shown as drilled at its outermost side toreceive a short square rod '82. The backside or" the ball 78 is alsoprovided with a short rod 84 and a fairly stiff spring member 86 isattached at its ends tothe inner ends of these rods 82 and 84. With thisarrangement, it can be seen that when the operator turns the control rod80 about its longitudinal axisthe'rod 84, spring 86, rod 82, ball andwire H will turn correspondingly and the speed of the motor will thus becontrolled.

It is repeated that the details of the connections to the outboard motorcan be changed from those illustrated in order to adapt the controldevice to substantially all motors and the invention is considered toreside pr'marily in the provision of a longitudinally movable controlrod adapted to be turned about its longitudinal axis and connected tothe steering and speed control mechanisms of the motor so that anoperator can, with one hand and from any position in the boat, steer andcontrol the speed of l he boat. 1

Obviously many modifications and variations ofthe invention, ashereinbefore set forth, may be made without departing from the spiritand scope thereof, and therefore only such limitations should be imposedas are indicated in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a control device for an outboard motor having a speed controlmeans and a steering lever and adapted to be attached to a boat by aswivel mounting, means for steering said boat comprising a bracketrigidly attached to said steering lever, an elongated control rod, apivotalconnectionbetween, one end of said rod and said bracket, the rodbeing connected solely to said bracket and free of connection to therest of the boat and adapted to extend longitudinally of the boat, andmeans for controlling the SPBGCtOf said motor comprising a flexiblelinkage attached to the rear end of the control rod and to said speedcontrol means, the arrangement being such that longitudinal movement ofsaid control rod will move said steering lever to turn the motor aboutits swivel mounting while rotary movement of said control rod about itslongitudinal axis will turn said flexible linkage to actuate said speedcontrol means.

2. In a control device for an outboard motor having a speed controllever and a steering arm, and attached to a boat by a swivel mounting,means for steering said boat comprising a bracket rigidly attached tosaid arm and extending substantially laterally therefrom, an elongatedcontrol rod, a pivotal connection between one end of said rod and theouter end of said bracket, the rod being adapted to extendlongitudinally of the boat and being free of connection to the boatitself, and means for controlling the speed of said motor comprising alinkage connecting the rear end of the control rod to said speed controllever so that longitudinal movement of said control rod will move saidbracket to turn the motor about its swivel mounting while rotarymovement of said control rod about its longitudinal axis will actuatesaid linkage to move said speed control lever.

for an outboard motor having a speed control lever and adapted to beattached to a boat by a swivel mounting, means for steering said boatcomprising a bracket rigidly attached to said motor and extendingsubstantially laterally therefrom, an elongated control rod, a pivotalconnection between one end of said rod and the outer end of saidbracket, the rod being adapted to extend more or less longitudinally ofthe boat and being free of connection to the boat itself, and means forcontrolling the speed of said motor comprising a link rod rigidlyattached to. the end'of the control rod having the said pivotalconnection, and a link pivotally connected at its ends to the outer end.ofsaid link rod and 'to said speed control lever, the arrangement beingsuch that longitudinal movement ofsaid control rod will move saidbracket toturn the motor about its swivel mounting while rotary movementof said control rod about its longitudinal axis will cause said link rodand said connecting link to move said speed control lever, said controlrod being freely portable with said motor.

4. In a control device for an outboard motor having a speed controllever and a steering arm and-attached to a boat by a swivel mounting sothat it can swing about a vertical axis, means for steering said boatcomprising a bracket rigidly attached to said steering arm and extendingsubstantially laterally therefrom, an elongated control rod adapted tobe grasped by one hand of the operator, a pivotal connection between therear end of said rod and the outer end of said bracket whereby the rodis adapted to extend more or less longitudinally of the boat while beingfree of connection to the boat itself, and means for simultaneouslycontrolling the speed of said motor comprising a link rod rigidly:attached to the rear end of said control rod, and a connecting link oneend of which is pivotally connected to the outer end of said link rod,the other end being pivotally connected to said speed control lever, thearrangement being such that longitudinal movement of said control rodwill move said bracket and steering arm to turn the motor about itsvertical axis while rotary movement of said control rod about itslongitudinal axis will cause said link rod and said connecting link tomove said speed control lever, said control rod, link rod and connectinglink being freely portable with said motor.

5. In a control device for an outboard motor having a speed controllever and a steering arm, and attached to a boat by a swivel mounting,means for steering said boat comprising a bracket rigidly attached tosaid arm and extending substantially laterally and horizontallytherefrom, an elongated control rod, a loose pivotal connection betweenone end of said rod and the outer end of said bracket whereby the rod isadapted to extend substantially horizontally and longitudinally of theboat while being free of connection to the boat itself, said loosepivotal connection serving to prevent binding between said bracket andsaid rod in the event the motor is tilted upwardly as by striking ahidden underwater object, and means for controlling the speed of saidmotor comprising a linkage connecting the rear end of the control rod tosaid speed control lever so that longitudinal movement of said controlrod will move said bracket to turn the motor about its swivel mountingwhile rotary movement of said control rod about its longitudinal axiswill actuate said linkage to move said speed control lever, said controlrod and linkage being freely portable with said motor.

6. In a control device for an outboard motor having a speed controllever and a steering arm, and adapted to be attached to a boat by aswivel mounting, means for steering said boat comprising a bracketrigidly attached to said arm and extending substantially laterallytherefrom, an elongated control rod, a pivotal connection between oneend of said rod and the outer end of said bracket whereby the rod isadapted to extend longitudinally of the boat while being free ofconnection to the boat itself,'said control rod being formed of at leasttwo telescoping sections,

means for locking said sections in any predetermined extended orretracted position, andmeans for controlling the speed of said motorcomprising a linkage connecting the rear end of the control rod to saidspeed control lever, the arrangement being such that longitudinalmovement of said control rod will move said bracket to turn the motorabout its swivel mounting while rotary movement of said control rodabout its longitudinal axis will actuate said linkage to move said speedcontrol lever, said control rod and linkage being freely portable withsaid motor.

7. In a control device for .an outboard motor having a speed controllever and a steering arm, and adapted to be attached to a boat by a,swivel mounting, means for steering said boat comprising a bracketrigidly attached to said arm and extending substantially laterallytherefrom, said bracket being provided near its outer end with avertical hole, an elongated control rod, a ring loosely mounted on therear end of said rod, a pin fixed to said ring and adapted to projectdownwardly loosely through said hole whereby said rod is adapted toextend longitudinally of the boat due to said pin and hole connectionthe control rod being connected solely to said bracket and being free ofconnection to the boat itself, and means for controlling the speed ofsaid-motor comprising a linkage connecting the rear end of the controlrod to said speed control lever so that rotary movement of said controlrod about its longitudinal arms will actuate :said linkage to move saidspeed control lever whilelongitudmal movement of said control rod willmove said bracket to turn the motor about its swivel mounting, saidcontrol rod and linkage being freely portable with said motor.

8. In a control device for an outboard motor aving a steering armincluding a speed control portion and adapted to be attached to a boatby a swivel mounting, means for steering said boat comprising a tubularmember, means for clamping said member around said arm, the outer end ofsaid tubular member being provided with a socket, an elongated controlrod having a ball at one end adapted to be engaged in said socket,whereby the rod is adapted to extend longitudinally of the boat whilebeing free of connection to the boat itself, and means for controllingthe speed of said motor comprising a resilient spring connecting saidball with the speed control portionof said arm, the arrangement beingsuch that longitudinal movement of said control rod will move saidsteering means to turn the motor about its swivel mounting while rotarymovement of said control rod about its longitudinal axis will turn saidball, said spring and the speed control portion of said arm, saidcontrol rod being freely portable with said motor.

KENNETH M. URQUHART.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 926,745 Hornecker July .6, 1909978,746 Heusted Dec. 13, 1910 1,452,296 Howard Apr. 17, 1923 1,843,272Evinrude Feb. 2, 1932 2,309,159 Binger Jan. 26, 1943 2,365,490 PieronDec. 19, 1944

